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The Divine Dungeon #1-5
The Divine Dungeon Complete Series
A powerful dungeon. A sheep-herder turned Noble. Their path to ascendance through cultivation.
The Divine Dungeon complete series plus the Master's short story, 560,000 words of epic adventure!
Conquering dungeons and using them to grow has long been the most efficient way to become a powerful adventurer. The only thing keeping the process from being easy is the Beasts that inhabit these places. Questions plague those entering this particular place of power: Where do the ‘rewards’ of weapons, armor, and heavy gold coins come from? Why is a fluffy bunny charging at me? For abyss-sake, why are there so many monsters?
Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. With the help of an energetic friend, Cal grows a dungeon around himself to bring in new sources of power.
When a threat he doesn’t fully comprehend bares its many teeth, Cal is determined to survive the attempt on his life. Unfortunately for adventurers, the only way for him to achieve his goal is to eat anyone that enters his depths.
What readers are saying:
"One of the most original, humorous and well-crafted novels I've read..." ★★★★★
"...I bought it today... And read it all, today. I also stopped playing World of Warcraft during that time which for anyone who has become addicted to that understands how good something has to be to interrupt that form of addiction." ★★★★★
"I can only compare Dakota's literary genius to that of our current industry titans, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and James S. A. Corey." ★★★★★
Buy the 5-book boxed set today to read Dakota Krout's Dungeon Born, Dungeon Madness, Dungeon Calamity, Dungeon Desolation, and Dungeon Eternium as well as Butcher Boy, the Master's short story!
The Divine Dungeon complete series plus the Master's short story, 560,000 words of epic adventure!
Conquering dungeons and using them to grow has long been the most efficient way to become a powerful adventurer. The only thing keeping the process from being easy is the Beasts that inhabit these places. Questions plague those entering this particular place of power: Where do the ‘rewards’ of weapons, armor, and heavy gold coins come from? Why is a fluffy bunny charging at me? For abyss-sake, why are there so many monsters?
Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. With the help of an energetic friend, Cal grows a dungeon around himself to bring in new sources of power.
When a threat he doesn’t fully comprehend bares its many teeth, Cal is determined to survive the attempt on his life. Unfortunately for adventurers, the only way for him to achieve his goal is to eat anyone that enters his depths.
What readers are saying:
"One of the most original, humorous and well-crafted novels I've read..." ★★★★★
"...I bought it today... And read it all, today. I also stopped playing World of Warcraft during that time which for anyone who has become addicted to that understands how good something has to be to interrupt that form of addiction." ★★★★★
"I can only compare Dakota's literary genius to that of our current industry titans, J.K. Rowling, George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and James S. A. Corey." ★★★★★
Buy the 5-book boxed set today to read Dakota Krout's Dungeon Born, Dungeon Madness, Dungeon Calamity, Dungeon Desolation, and Dungeon Eternium as well as Butcher Boy, the Master's short story!
- GenresFantasy
1453 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 21, 2020
987 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Krout
76 books2,876 followersAuthor of the best-selling Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles, and Full Murderhobo series, Dakota Krout was chosen as Audible's top 5 fantasy pick of 2017, has been a top 5 bestseller on Amazon, and a top 6 bestseller on Audible.
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 27, 2020
To be perfectly honest, I have trouble thinking of this series as novels. I think they take a very specific mindset to enjoy at all and I had a much easier time thinking of them as a narrative introduction to a dungeon-crawler MMORPG's mechanics. You just have to realize these characters are not people, they are MMO avatars which is why they don't fear death or pain or loss. It is also why the good guys' first thought when a long time ally and friend dies a horrible death in front of their eyes is "Who gets to keep their armor?"
Now I was initially having a blast with this expectation. Eventually though the complete inconsistency of characterization started wearing me down. I was there for the fourth wall breaking puns up to and including characters "accidentally" calling the main character by the author's name or characters commenting how the names of each book would make an awesome book title. Eventually though the world-threatening bad guy mastermind just completely jumped the shark by being a tryhard lol random "crazy" person reminiscent of nothing so much as t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m.
The fundamental issue with the writing is that its trying to have both moments of high drama and constant fourth wall breaking metahumor but completely fails to find a way to balance them. The result is reminiscent of nothing so much as a tabletop RPG where the DM and one player are trying to play out an emotional tragic scene while the rest of the party are constantly ruining it with aggressively unfunny jokes. It all finally completely falls apart when an über edgy That Guy® comes in to play the villain for a session as a guest role.
Now I was initially having a blast with this expectation. Eventually though the complete inconsistency of characterization started wearing me down. I was there for the fourth wall breaking puns up to and including characters "accidentally" calling the main character by the author's name or characters commenting how the names of each book would make an awesome book title. Eventually though the world-threatening bad guy mastermind just completely jumped the shark by being a tryhard lol random "crazy" person reminiscent of nothing so much as t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m.
The fundamental issue with the writing is that its trying to have both moments of high drama and constant fourth wall breaking metahumor but completely fails to find a way to balance them. The result is reminiscent of nothing so much as a tabletop RPG where the DM and one player are trying to play out an emotional tragic scene while the rest of the party are constantly ruining it with aggressively unfunny jokes. It all finally completely falls apart when an über edgy That Guy® comes in to play the villain for a session as a guest role.
March 27, 2020
Great writing
A massive boxset and some hell of an involved cultivation and levelling dungeon diving adventure. Krout is well known for his quality writing and this popular series is a must read
A massive boxset and some hell of an involved cultivation and levelling dungeon diving adventure. Krout is well known for his quality writing and this popular series is a must read
July 19, 2020
Fun reads
First 2 books I gave 4 stars. The following three books were basically 3 stars. Nothing bad. Just nothing extraordinary. The idea is wonderful. You are reading from the dungeons perspective. Really cool and original idea. For me started out good in the first two books but then was average for the last three. Fun books. Fun read but if you don’t then you aren’t missing a huge amount.
First 2 books I gave 4 stars. The following three books were basically 3 stars. Nothing bad. Just nothing extraordinary. The idea is wonderful. You are reading from the dungeons perspective. Really cool and original idea. For me started out good in the first two books but then was average for the last three. Fun books. Fun read but if you don’t then you aren’t missing a huge amount.
March 13, 2020
Bad puns were perfect
Love this book. I originally thought it was horror but I turned out I was wrong. Full of dangers adventures love and bad puns at the perfect spots.
Love this book. I originally thought it was horror but I turned out I was wrong. Full of dangers adventures love and bad puns at the perfect spots.
July 24, 2021
Started off with a fun concept, but sadly you see no character progression whatsoever aside from their power level.
Sometimes characters make seemingly out of character actions too. Like when Dale went all blood lust mode for some random reason you discover later.
Around the middle of the story you get the time loop, which caused a pointless time paradox that really brings nothing to the table.
I couldn't even feel sad for the death of the characters because they had no depth to them. You get so bored of their unchanging stance their death is actually refreshing, though still sudden and unclimactic.
The only enjoyable progression is that of the dungeon growing.
This story clearly doesn't take itself seriously. If you're ok with that and bad puns I guess it's okay.
Just to be clear, I'm bashing it because I had high hopes for it. For me personally, I was very disappointed about the unfulfilled potential. Right now I am struggling to get through the last book just to get it done with.
Sometimes characters make seemingly out of character actions too. Like when Dale went all blood lust mode for some random reason you discover later.
Around the middle of the story you get the time loop, which caused a pointless time paradox that really brings nothing to the table.
I couldn't even feel sad for the death of the characters because they had no depth to them. You get so bored of their unchanging stance their death is actually refreshing, though still sudden and unclimactic.
The only enjoyable progression is that of the dungeon growing.
This story clearly doesn't take itself seriously. If you're ok with that and bad puns I guess it's okay.
Just to be clear, I'm bashing it because I had high hopes for it. For me personally, I was very disappointed about the unfulfilled potential. Right now I am struggling to get through the last book just to get it done with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2021
A greatly enjoyable LitRPG series written from a relatively amoral dungeon's perspective. Any fans of LitRPG or fantasy novels may enjoy a non-usual protagonist.
The way dungeons and adventurer's were able to develop mutually beneficial relationships was a nice twist. The RPG elements were innovative, detailed, and thought provoking. Overall a very easy read and difficult to put down. I finished the series in a week long binge :)
My main criticisms would be the following: Firstly the fourth wall breaking really brought me out of the tension of the novel, particularly references to the author's own name. There was a tendency to write females that are violent or threatening to the male characters without consequence, as though this is a normal or healthy dynamic in relationships.
The way dungeons and adventurer's were able to develop mutually beneficial relationships was a nice twist. The RPG elements were innovative, detailed, and thought provoking. Overall a very easy read and difficult to put down. I finished the series in a week long binge :)
My main criticisms would be the following: Firstly the fourth wall breaking really brought me out of the tension of the novel, particularly references to the author's own name. There was a tendency to write females that are violent or threatening to the male characters without consequence, as though this is a normal or healthy dynamic in relationships.
November 16, 2023
A story following two interconnected lives -one a sentient dungeon and the other a simple farm boy who stumbled upon the growing dungeon. Through their perspectives, we get to learn about the world they live in and navigate political, ethical, and magical conflicts. In case that wasn’t hard enough, Death magic users called Necromancers have been growing and treating the land.
The world building of the series is excellent and at a rate that there’s time to digest (and sometimes the characters has time to show this new knowledge) before moving onto the next conflict or new information. Similar to The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, I could imagine myself in the world.
Though the events of the story came at a steady rate, the rising action of the overarching story had parts that left me wondering “what’s the next big story event?” For this I recommend getting the box set like this because you get the full and complete story. The first half of the series is moved forward by the individual story in each book, while the latter half loses the individual story for the overarching story of the series.
This series gets a 5/5. Although the story has some rough parts to get through, the world and the characters greatly make up for the struggles
The world building of the series is excellent and at a rate that there’s time to digest (and sometimes the characters has time to show this new knowledge) before moving onto the next conflict or new information. Similar to The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, I could imagine myself in the world.
Though the events of the story came at a steady rate, the rising action of the overarching story had parts that left me wondering “what’s the next big story event?” For this I recommend getting the box set like this because you get the full and complete story. The first half of the series is moved forward by the individual story in each book, while the latter half loses the individual story for the overarching story of the series.
This series gets a 5/5. Although the story has some rough parts to get through, the world and the characters greatly make up for the struggles
June 11, 2024
Delightfully dark.
The primary concept never got old for me. The new plots in each book were very interesting, the multitude of characters were diverse, well defined, and stayed true to themselves throughout the series. The two main characters are perfectly balanced as someone you hate to love, and someone you love to hate lol. I was actually able to put myself in the character's shoes quite often, which made the story more engaging. Can't wait to read more of his Completionist Chronicles after this.
The primary concept never got old for me. The new plots in each book were very interesting, the multitude of characters were diverse, well defined, and stayed true to themselves throughout the series. The two main characters are perfectly balanced as someone you hate to love, and someone you love to hate lol. I was actually able to put myself in the character's shoes quite often, which made the story more engaging. Can't wait to read more of his Completionist Chronicles after this.
August 7, 2025
I started reading Dakota Krout after my son kept quoting his books to me. They sounded fun. I first read the Murderhobo series. OMG!!! I LOVE IT ♡♡♡ I bought it on Kindle, Audible & paperbacks. I have read all 3 of them multiple times already this year.
I have just finished the Divine Dungeon series. I absolutely LOVE Dakota Krout's writing.
I recommend Dakota Krout books to my husband, kids, grandkids, EVERYONE!!! Such nice, good clean fun.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read his books (start with the Full Murderhobo series. 😉)
I have just finished the Divine Dungeon series. I absolutely LOVE Dakota Krout's writing.
I recommend Dakota Krout books to my husband, kids, grandkids, EVERYONE!!! Such nice, good clean fun.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read his books (start with the Full Murderhobo series. 😉)
August 5, 2021
An interesting break from the standard RPG LIT fare, no 'pop-up' storytelling, and a completely different take on the dungeon/delver experience. I enjoyed the way the story developed over the series, including the relationships between the delvers and the dungeon. I can easily recommend this series.
December 22, 2021
A fantastic and ever growing series
While reading this book I was interested in the world, characters, and events that happened. Along with the light humor that accompanies it. I don't know if Dakota Krout had confirmed or denied it but it appears that this is a prequel to "the Completionist Chronicles" a book series that I love. I hope you enjoy the read.
While reading this book I was interested in the world, characters, and events that happened. Along with the light humor that accompanies it. I don't know if Dakota Krout had confirmed or denied it but it appears that this is a prequel to "the Completionist Chronicles" a book series that I love. I hope you enjoy the read.
May 17, 2022
My first review - Divine Dungeon 5*
I've just read this entire series for the second time and enjoyed it just as much. The concept is unique, plot and character development are both spectacular and I read the lot over three days. I love this series! Congratulations to Dakota, I am in awe of your imagination.
I've just read this entire series for the second time and enjoyed it just as much. The concept is unique, plot and character development are both spectacular and I read the lot over three days. I love this series! Congratulations to Dakota, I am in awe of your imagination.
May 10, 2020
Quite the Read
Nice, long books...just the way I like them. Good depth, nice progression, a few plot twists. Looking forward to reading the related books to this series for stoked more background to the secondary characters.
Nice, long books...just the way I like them. Good depth, nice progression, a few plot twists. Looking forward to reading the related books to this series for stoked more background to the secondary characters.
October 9, 2020
Wonderful Experience
I really enjoyed the personalities of the characters and their interactions. Each book constantly kept me guessing as to what happened next and compelled me to read the entire ~1500 pages non-stop in 3 days.
I really enjoyed the personalities of the characters and their interactions. Each book constantly kept me guessing as to what happened next and compelled me to read the entire ~1500 pages non-stop in 3 days.
Read
December 29, 2020As with all of Dakota's works, I loved this series.
my only complaint for those who are audiobook listeners, the Narrator change was awful.
if you can get past that though it's a great series that flawlessly ties to his Completionist Chronicles.
my only complaint for those who are audiobook listeners, the Narrator change was awful.
if you can get past that though it's a great series that flawlessly ties to his Completionist Chronicles.
March 28, 2022
A great semi-meta fantasy gaming themed novel, where the protagonist is actually a Dungeon, kind of. I really enjoyed reading through all five books consecutively. Recommended for who wants an easy-to-read fantasy themed novel.
June 24, 2020
A Fun time
Enjoy the experience. It is a good story with many twists and turns. I look forward to the next series
Enjoy the experience. It is a good story with many twists and turns. I look forward to the next series
September 15, 2020
This was a fun series, perfect for those who play D&D, videogames, and love terrible puns.
November 26, 2020
Read them one after the other.. Just the escape warrented by covid. Witty and fun adventures.
January 1, 2021
Fun Series
As usual he did it again. Fun Series, would love to see it continued. It is easy to rate it 5 stars.
As usual he did it again. Fun Series, would love to see it continued. It is easy to rate it 5 stars.
Read
March 4, 2021I totally enjoyed seeing an RPG from the other side. My mmorpgs made a little more sense also :-)
August 8, 2021
Mazing series
I've read this series and it was great, I've also read a number of other works by this author. Thx for these book :)
I've read this series and it was great, I've also read a number of other works by this author. Thx for these book :)
September 21, 2021
Cal and company
I enjoyed the compilation. The story and characters we well developed. This is a good read. Well worth your time.
I enjoyed the compilation. The story and characters we well developed. This is a good read. Well worth your time.
December 22, 2021
I love this series! Read every one of them. I love the concept and the fun characters! Highly recommend
September 23, 2022
Great Series
I'm new to this kind of fantasy. However, i got totally caught up in the story. Great characters and lots of action.
I'm new to this kind of fantasy. However, i got totally caught up in the story. Great characters and lots of action.
Read
December 31, 2022Fun read
Good read. Read this a long time ago. Just as good as I remember. I hope you enjoy it too.
Good read. Read this a long time ago. Just as good as I remember. I hope you enjoy it too.
December 24, 2023
good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2025
A concept that gets explored in like every aspect possible, loved it
September 19, 2020
Wow
What an amazing cast of characters. World is very well developed and all characters are well fleshed out.
All i can say is give this series a shot if u ever wanted to know what a dungeon thinks about in its day to day existence.
Such a fun read!
What an amazing cast of characters. World is very well developed and all characters are well fleshed out.
All i can say is give this series a shot if u ever wanted to know what a dungeon thinks about in its day to day existence.
Such a fun read!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews